John David Boyle pleaded guilty in March to child pornography charges and using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sex. Boyle admitted that he molested a 14-year-old boy that he met online.

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Former middle school teacher and athletic coach John David Boyle, 52, was sentenced to 282 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of child pornography and admitting he molested a 14-year-old boy he met online.

Updated at 5:35 AM PDT on Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A former Covina teacher and athletic coach who was once considered so popular with students that he was a commencement speaker at the school’s graduation was sentenced to 23-and-a-half years in federal prison Monday after pleading guilty to charges of child pornography and exploitation.

John David Boyle, 52, was arrested last June in his classroom at Royal Oaks Middle School after he invited an undercover federal agent to his classroom to engage in sexual activity while watching child pornography together.

"He used his classroom as a forum to further his sexual desires. And that includes, by his own admission in the plea agreement, grooming one of his students for sexual molestation," Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Trutanich said.

Boyle pleaded guilty in March to child pornography charges and using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sex. Boyle admitted that he molested a 14-year-old boy that he met online.

Boyle also pleaded guilty to production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

United States District Judge Stephen Wilson said Boyle's crimes were "horrendous" and that "the damage done to the victims is incalculable” during Monday’s hearing.

Boyle’s plea involved four victims, whose families submitted written “impact statements” in court Monday, according to an NBC4 report.

Prosecutors said that Boyle molested children dating back to the late 1980’s.

"Simply put, defendant is a sexual predator, who has avoided detection by law enforcement for many years and poses an extreme danger not just to the community, but also to the most vulnerable in it - namely, young children," prosecutors stated in their sentencing brief.